Tobacco barn structure



Sept. 16, 1952 e. s. HORNE 2,610,568

TOBACCO BARN STRUCTURE Filed April 25, 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 1 671.052 5 Hoe/v5,

INVEN TOR.

A TTOQNE v P 16, 1952 G. s. HORNE 2,610,568

TOBACCO BARN STRUCTURE Filed April 25. 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 T2 J A TTOENE- Y Sept. 16, 1952 Filed April 25, 1949 G. s. HORNE 2,610,568

TOBACCO BARN STRUCTURE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 A TTOENEV P 1952 G. s. HORNE 2,610,568

TOBACCO BARN STRUCTURE Filed April 25, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 4o 53- I 56 r55 7 P 6O 1 j 35 95 95 103 611.052 5 Hoe/v5,

IN VEN TOR.

A TTQENE-Y Sept. 16, 1952 5, HORNE 2,610,568

TOBACCO BARN STRUCTURE Filed April 25, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 R J62 63 I 64" 5 H0 67 24 HO VF: j2

60 as 111 s5 34 H2 126 H4 25 l 12g 124 1 Q\ \,-12o

121 15o 1 47-4 GILDER HORNE, I INVENTOR.

I h 2 6 i 11 El 1 BY F1 13 12"1 12 5 A T TOENEY Patented Sept. 16, 19 52 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Gilcler'S. Home, Charlotte, N. 0. Application April 25, 1949, Serial No. 89,439 I 4 t 8 Claims.

Thisinventionfrelates to improvements in tobaocobarns employed in the curing of tobacco and more especially to an improved ventilatin apparatus adapted'to be mounted at the apex of hip roof types'of tobacco barns and which is operable from the ground floor of thebarn and whereby the amount of air} passing upwardly thtrough the tobacco being dried may be regua ed 7. I V

Ina tobacco barn there is provided a plurality of superposed tier; poles onwhich the tobacco is hung for a curing operation. In .oneform [of harvesting tobacco, the stalks are split from the top down toa distance short of' the bottom and then the tobacoo' stalk is out below the point where the lowermost leaveson the stalk are 10* cated, and the split stalk of tobacco is thrown astride a stick, the stalks of tobacco hanging in an inverted position and these sticks are hung on the tier poles in the tobacco barn. In morere: cent years, the preferred manner of harvesting tobacco is to strip the lowermost leaves from the stalk, since the leaves begin ripening at the bot: tom, andprogressively ripen toward the top of the stalk,.and pack these leaves in suitable containers,-- which are usually wheeled or on sleds,

and aregidrawn ,betweenfthfe rows of ,tobacco. 'lhesecontainers full of leaves are thengdrawn to the barn or to. a point adjacent the barn where they are strung on suitable tobacco sticks, leav-' ing a naked portion at each end of the stick of several inches length.

Then these .sticksof tobacco are'passed upwardly by one person'standing on two tier poles and handing; asticlrup to another person thereabove on two other tier poles, and so on until the sticksare placed on the topmost tier poles and the tobacco barn isthus filled with tobacco sticks with'tobaccothereon; from the top to the bottom. These sticks. withthe leaves thereon are packedv rather closelytogether and in the beginning o'f'aj curing operation, it is necessary to have a good 'bit', of ventilation from the bottom to'thetop of thetobacco barn, since heat is gen-- erally generatedatthe bottom of the tobacco barn and rises upwardly as any hotair willrise, and sometimes it is necessary to create an'upward draft through the leaves, especially inltheprimary stages of curing so as to cause the heat gen portion of the barn from becoming overheated.

In any event, suitable ventilating means at the top of the'barnare necessary and various attempts have heretofore been made to secure such ventilation. but have not proved entirely satisfactory. It is therefore an object of this inven tion to provide an improved ventilating means for tobacco barns having'hip roofs or pyramidal type roofs and which may be readily adapted to this type of roof with a minimum of additional framing-and which may be operable from the ground floor of the barn for regulating the'size of the opening to control the rate at which the air is vented from the. center of the roof and to further provide other means cooperating'therewith to minimize turbulence atthe ventilating means, thus insuring a uniform discharge of air from within the tobacco barn regardless of the direction or velocity of the wind.

In a tobacco barn it is preferable to have suitable openings near the bottom thereof to admit airintothe barnwhichjrises upwardly throu h the leaves of tobacco inthe barn and outwardly through the ventilating means in the top of the barn.

It is another object of this invention to provide in combination with atobaeco barn having a hiprooi' or pyramidal roof, said barn being provided with a rectangular'opening at the juncture of the hip rafters, substantially triangular doors hinged to the side edges of the opening and pivoted arms extending'from the center of each of the hinged doors'to a common vertically extending pole, or staff to which they'are pivotally connected, therebeingguiding means for the vertically extending pole and means on the pole for locking the pole in any desired position relative to the vertical upon the polebeing raised or lowered by an operator for opening or closing the hinged doors.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ventilating apparatus fortobacco barns having a pyramidal 'roof, and the roof being provided witha square. opening at its apex, comprisin triangularQdoors hinged to the side edges of said opning,..eacli of thetriangular doors having a bar secured to its lower surface, and extending a substantial distance beyond the edge of the said opening in a direction remote from the free end. of the door. The upperends of cables are connected to the lower. ends of the bars on the doors and converge downwardly and are connected to one endof a lever arm pivoted at its other end onone of the rafters and having a cable depending from the lever arm intermediate its ends,-to

thus provide means whereby the hinged doors may be opened by an operator pulling the cable downwardly. This cable may be disposed off center relative to the opening in the roof so as to be disposed closely adjacent the tier poles and to thereby avoid interference with placing the tobacco sticks on the tier poles.

In another form of the invention I have provided lever arms pivotally connected to the bottoms of the hinged doors, the lower end of which are hingedly connected to a common vertically movable post of relatively short length, and from the upper end of which a guide pin projects and extends through the usual center post to which the hip rafters are secured at their upper ends. A lever arm is pivotally connected to the vertically movable post at one end thereof and the other end of the lever arm has a cord, cable or the like, extending downwardly therefrom in offset relation to the center of the roof to thus pass immediately adjacent tier poles. This lever arm is oscillata-bly mounted intermediate its ends on the framework of the barn to thus cause the doors to be opened equal distances with respect to each other when the cable is pulled downwardly by an operator, it being understood that the operator may tie the lower end of the cable around one of the lowermost tier poles adjacent the same when the doors, have been opened a desired amount.

Some of, the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an isometric view of a typical hip roof'tobacco barn showing the improved ventilating apparatus mounted on the roof thereof;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the "barn and is taken substantiallyalong the line 2-2 in Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional plan view showing one i f the guiding means and the supporting means for the vertically movable staff;

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 and is taken substantially along the line 4-4 in Figure 2 Figure 5 is an enlargedtop plan view with parts in section and is taken substantially along the line-5-5 in Figure 2 and showing themanner in which the hinged doors are mounted at the apex of the hip roof;

Figure 6 isa plan view showing a layout of a preferred form of roof framing to be employed in conjunction with the present invention;

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 'l'i in Figure5 and v still another modified means for opening and 4 is preferable that the barn [0 be constructed in the manner shown in the drawings and in the manner to be presently described.

The foundation for the tobacco barn comprises a plurality of concrete blocks, H, alternate ones of which are turned on their sides to thu expose their air spaces 12 and to allow air to pass therethr-ough.

Disposed on top "of the blocks H are the sills l3 and secured on the topfof these sills i3 are a plurality of spaced u prising' studs or frame members is, on the top ends of which'the usual plate members is are secured.

The lower ends of hip rafters Zilto 23', inclusive, are secured to the plate members it at the corners of the barn iii and extend upwardly and inwardly and their proximate ends are suitably secured to a vertically disposed center block it. A plurality of jack rafters 25 are secured at their upper ends to the sides of the hip rafters 2ilto l3, inclusive, and their lower endsare suitably secured to the plates l5 (Figures 2 and 6).

The barn isv 'provided'with a plurality of tier poles SB'secured at their ends to the upright studs. i l and on which tobacco sticks, not shown, with tobacco thereon, are adapted to be placed for a curing operation.

A preferred. wall structure for tobacco barns of this type comprises a layer of matched boards Bi secured to the outer edges of the stud members Hand to which panels of mineral surfaced insulation board 32 are secured, to thus provide an insulated wall for the barn Iii. The rafters 29, 2 l, 22, 23 and 25 are also covered in the same manner as the walls offthe. building It and have suitable. matched boards. 3 secured on the top edges thereof, to. which a suitable mineral surfaced insulation board '35 is secured, to thus provide an insulation covering for thepyramidal roof 33 0f the barn Hi. Before the roofing boards M a-re secured to the rafters, suitable spacing blocks'iit (Figure?) are secured to the plate members i 5 and spanthedistance between adjacent rafters, thus completing the general structurn of the barn l0.

The Tni'atched boards 34 and the insulation material 35' at theroof of the barn It are cut away to form an openings!) at the junction point o'ffthel hip'rafters 20 to 23, inclusive. It'willbe noted that thehip rafters 2b to 23, inclusive, are not cut away beneaththe area defined by the opening 48.

Secured to the top edges of the hip rafters 28 to. 23, inclusive, are vertically disposed corner posts. GI to 44,.inclusive, respectively (Figure 5), which extend upwardlya substantial distance above the apex of the roof and have suitable horizontally disposed frame members 415 secured thereto, to the upper surfaces of which a horizontally disposed plate member 41, which may be of fany-de'siredfmaterial such as wood, metal, plastic, or the like, is suitably secured. Spaced below the upper ends of the corner posts 4| to MIinclusive andtbeing secured thereto, are horizontally disposed frame members to which the upper ends of side panels 52, 53, 54 and 55 are suitablysecured, the lower ends of the panels 52 to '55; inclusive, being secured to suitable frame members 55' fastened to the corner posts 4| to 44*,in'clusive, at the juncture of the corner posts and the insulation roofing material 35. Themembers tl to 55, inclusive, form a hollow member having vertical wall members.

, Hingedly connected, as by strap hinges 68, to

the roofing boards 34, are hingeddoors 61 to 64,

' normallyrest on the hip rafters 20 :and 2 I. The

hinged door 63 spans the distance between and is adapted to'normally rest onthe hip rafters 21 and 23. The hinged door 64 spans the distance between and normally restson the'hip rafters 22 and 23.

It will be notedjthat the lower outermost corners of all of the hinged doors 6| to 64, in clusive, are cut away to thus clear the corner posts M to 44, inclusive, as they are raised and lowered by means to be presently described.

Referring to Figures 2, 5, 7 and 8,it may be observed that there is, suitably secured to the lower surface of the hinged doors '6I to '64, in,- clusive, a cleat 61 to which the upper ends of links II to I4 inclusive, respectively, arepivotally connected as at I5. The lower ends of the links II and I3 are oscillatably mounted adjacent opposite ends of a pin I5 which slidably penetrates a suitable staff I6 near the upper end thereof. This pin I5 is threaded at opposite ends thereof for reception of suitable nuts TI to thus confine the lower ends of the links i l and I3 on the rod I5 and against'opposite sides of the stafi I6. I

The lower ends of the links I2 and 'I4 are mounted in an identical manner to the lower ends of the links I I and 'I3, the pin being indi cated at 80. The staff I6 depends fromthe links H to I4, inclusive, and is mounted for vertical sliding movement against a transverse bar 82 disposed between the centrally located tier poles 30 and in the lowermost row of the same. The staff I6 also has vertical sliding movement against a similar transverse bar 83 disposed between a pair of-centrally located intermediate tier poles 30 and each of the transverse bars 83 and 82 (Figure 2) has a pair of spaced blocks 64 and 85 capped by a bar 86 secured thereto by any suitable means such as nails 81 (Figures 3 and 4) The blocks 84 and 85 and the associated cap member 86 serve as guide members for vertical movement of the staff I6 and it will be noted in Figure 3 that the lower portion of the staff I6 is provided with a plurality of holes or bores 96, any one of which is adapted to slidably receive a lock pin 9| which is adapted to engage the upper surface of the bar 82 and the associated bar 86 (Figure 3) to support the weight of the staff I6 and the hinged doors 6| to 64, inclusive, when they are in an opened position as shown in Figure 8,

It is thus seen that by raising the staff I6 from the lowered position shown in Figures 2 and 7 to, say, the position shown in Figure 8, the link members H to I4, inclusive, will cause the hinged doors 6| to 64, inclusive, respectively, to be moved upwardly at their proximate upper edges and the pin 9| (Figure 3) may be inserted in any one, of the bores 90 in the lower portion of the staff I6 to thus hold the doors 61 to 64, inclusive, in open position and to thus regulate the size of the opening 46 at the apex of the roof of the tobacco barn Ill.

The purpose of the walls 52 to 55, inclusive, is to provide the eifect of a stack or chimney, the upper edges of these walls terminating high enough above any sloping roof sections to minimize air turbulence and to avoid down drafts. The plate member 41 primarily serves to prevent rain and the like from falling through the opening when the doors 6I to 64 are in an open position. The plate 41 is made as thin as possible so as to not interfere with the normal currents of air passing above and below the same, particularly in the case of winds of a relatively high velocity.

First modified form of the invention Referring to Figures 9' and 10, there maybe observed a modified means for opening the hinged doors 6| to 64, inclusive. Since the roof structure and the manner in which the doors are mounted in Figures 9 and 10 is identical to the manner in which they are mounted in Figures l, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8, like parts shall bear the same reference characters and only the modifications will be hereinafter described.

Each of the doors 6| to 64, inclusive, has suitably secured to the lower surface thereof a bar 95. Each of the bars 95 projects a substantial distance beyond the hingededge of the corresponding door and the bars 95 associated with the doors 62 and 64 have opposite ends of a cable or cord 96 connected thereto, there being a cable 91 extending from the hinged doors BI and '63 in the same manner that the cable 95 is connected to the bars 95 associatedwith the doors 62 and 64. v

The cables 96 and 91 may be tied together in any suitable manner at their juncture, however, in this instance there is a suitable ring I89 through which the cables 96 and 91 are adapted to pass. therefrom, the lower end of which is connected to the free end of a lever armIflS. The other end of this lever arm I63 may be connected to the framework of the roof in any desired manner and, in this instance, the lever arm I93 is shown as being pivotally connected as at I84 to one of the jack rafters 25. In Figures 9 and 10 the upper end of a control cable I05 is connected to the lever arm I63 adjacent its pivoted point I94 and it is thus seen that the cable I95 is disposed to one side of the center of the building and may thus extend downwardly past and closely adjacent the tier poles 30 as arranged in Figure 2 and thus will leave the space between the tier poles clear of obstructions which would interfere with placing the conventional tobacco sticks on the tier poles.

Second modified form Referring to Figures 11, 12 and 13 there is shown a second modified means for controlling the opening and closing of the hinged doors 65 to 64, inclusive. As in the first modified form, the'roof structure and the manner in which the hinged doors are mounted is identical to that shown in the original form of the invention shown in Figures 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and, there fore, like parts shall again bear the same refer-v ence characters and only the modifications will hereinafter be described.

In the second modified form of the invention, shown in Figures 11, 12 and 13, the hinged doors 6| to'64, inclusive, also have the cleat 6'I suitably secured to the. lower surface thereof, as in the original form of the invention. Pivotally connected, as at H0, toeach of the cleats 61 is an angularly disposed link I II which extends downwardly and inwardly, and is hingedly secured as This ring I00 has a link IOI depending.

at [12 adjacent the upper'end of a vertically disposed common post H4. 7

The lower end of a vertically disposed guide rod H is threadably imbedded in the upper end of the common post lit and slidably penetrates the center of the block at heretofore described. This pin H5 is preferably headed as at I It at its upper end, this head portion Ht being adapted toengage the upper surface of the block 24 when the doors 6! to G l, inclusive, are in a closed position as shown in Figure 11.

In this second modified form of the invention it is preferable to provide horizontally disposed header frame members I29 between the proximate sides of adjacent jack rafters 25, there be ing one of these headers 123 at each of two opposed downwardly sloping portions of the pyramidal roof. Extending between these header frame members I25 is a horizontally disposed tie frame member i2i which preferably offset slightly with respect to the common post lit to thus permit the common post i is to pass freely thereby.

A suitable spacing block 23 (Figure 13) is secured, as by nailing, to one of the vertical sides of the cross frame member i2! and is slidably penetrated by a belt I it on which a lever arm 125 is oscillatably mounted intermediate its ends.

The left-hand end of this lever arm H5 in Figures 11 and 12 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot I28 which is slidablypenetrated by a bolt l2? which also slidably pene= trates the lower portion of the common post i M.

The free right-hand end of the lever arm I25 has the upper end of a cable, cord or the like I39, connected thereto which depends from the arm its and extends downwardly to near the floor of the barn and within reach of an operator. It is thus seen that the cable IE8 is disposed off center to one side of the vertical center of the barn is and thus this cable 838 may be disposed closely adjacent or between adjacent tier poles H which are shown in Figure 2. By grasping the cable I33 and pulling the same downwardly, an operator may move the lever 525 in a clockwise direction in Figure 11 to the position shown in Figure 12, to fully open the hinged doors hi to 64, inclusive, or, if desired, the doors iii to 6 3 may be opened or swung upwardly to any desired position, and then the lower end of the cable lull may be secured to one of the tier poles 353. It is manifest that it would merely be necessary to release the cable 33 and the doors ti to would close, by gravity, since their combined weight is substantially greater than the weight of the right-hand portion of the lever arm I25 and the cable I355 depending therefrom.

The use of a ventilating apparatus oi this type with a pyramidal roof, obviously, insures an even ilow of air from all parts of the barn when the doors 6! to 64 are in an open position.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the in= vention, and although specific terms. are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1 In a tobacco barn having a foundation, and also having side walls supported on the foundation, and also having a pyramidal-shaped roof supported on the upper ends of the side walls, said roof being provided with a rectangular opening at its apex, an open-ended hollow member having vertically disposed wall members secured to said roof, one wall member being adj acent each side of said rectangular opening, a horizontally disposed plat member mounted in spaced'relation to the upper ends of said vertically disposed wall members, a substantially triangular door hingedly connected to the roof at each of the sides of the rectangular opening, said roof beingprovided with hip rafters extending inwardly and upwardly from each corner thereof and being joined together at their upper proximate ends and said hip rafters spanning said opening, the said hinged doors normally resting on the hip rafters, a vertically movable stafi extending from adjacent the bottom floor of the barn and terminatin a substantial distance below the apex of the pyramidalroof, link members pivo-tally connected to the upper end of said st'afi and being connected at their other ends to the bottoms of the said hinged doors whereby, upon moving the said stall upwardly, the doors wi1l be moved apart from each other at their proximate upper edges to thus regulate the size of the opening between the free ends of said hinged doors and means on said staff for locking the staff in a desired elevated position for holding the hinged doors at a predetermined angular position.

2. In a tobacco barn having a foundation, and also having side walls supported on the foundation, and also having a pyramidal-shaped roof supported on the upper ends of the side walls, said roof being provided with a rectangular opening at its apex, a substantially triangular door hingedly connectedat the base thereof to the roof at each of the sides of the rectangular opening, said roof being provided with hip rafters, extending inwardly and upwardly fromeach corner thereof and being joined together at their upper proxi-= mate ends and said hip rafters spannin said opening, the said hinged doors normally, resting on the hip rafters, a vertically movable staff extending from adjacent the bottom iioor of the barn and terminating a substantial distance below the apex of the pyramidal roof, link members pivotally connected to'the upper end of said stall and being connected at their other ends to the bottoms of the said hinged doors whereby, upon moving the said staff upwardly, the doors will be moved apart from each other at their proximate upper edges to thus regulate the size of the open ing between the free ends of said hinged doors and means on said staff for locking the stall: in a desired elevated position for holding the hinged doors at a predetermined angular position, a rectangular framework supported by said hip rafters and extending upwardly a substantial distance above said opening, a horizontally dispose-d cover plate secured to the upper end of therectangular framework, side wall members secured to the framework, the upper ends of said side wall members being spaced a substantial distance below said cover member to thus induce an even flow of air under windy conditions across and above said opening and whereby upon IIlOVll'lg said hinged doors upwardly, a uniform passage of air upwardly through the opening may be insured.

3. In a tobacco barn having a pyramidalshaped roof, said roof being provided with a rectangular opening at its center, an open-ended hollow member havin vertically disposed wall members secured to said roof, one Wall member being adjacent each side of said rectangular opening, a horizontally disposed plate member mounted in spaced relation to the upper ends of said vertically disposed wall members, a substantially triangular door hingedly connected to the roof at .91 each of the sides of the rectangular opening, said roof being provided with hip rafters extending from the lower edges of said roof and across the said opening and terminating at .the center of said opening, and a block of substantially the length of the ends of the rafters and to which the ends of the rafters are adapted to be secured, the

hinged doors normally resting on the hip rafters, a relatively short vertically disposed common post disposed below the said block,link members pivotally connected to the common post andextending from said common post to eachof the hinged doors and being pivotall connected at their other ends to the bottoms of saidhinged doors, a lever arm pivotally connected to the common post at one end thereof and being oscillatably mounted intermediat its ends adjacent the 7 common post, a'cable depending from the free tor.

4. In a tobacco barn having a foundation and also having side walls supported on the foundation and also having a pyramidal-shaped roof supported on the upper ends of the side walls, said roof being provided with a rectangular opening at its center, an open-ended hollow member having vertically disposed wall members secured to said roof, one wall member being adjacent each side of said rectangular opening, a horizontally disposed plate member mounted in spaced relation to the upper ends of said vertically disposed wall members, doors hingedly connected to the roof at the sides of the rectangular opening, said roof being provided with hip rafters extending inwardly and upwardly from each corner thereof and being joined together at their upper ends and said rafters spanning said opening, the said hinged doors being adapted to normally reston the hip rafters, a bar secured to the lower surface of each of the hinged doors and extending a substantial distance beyond the hinged end of the same, converging cables extending from the free ends of said bars, a lever arm connected at its free end to the cables at a point substantially in vertica1 alinement with the center of the opening, means pivotally connecting said lever arm at its other end to the rafters, a cable connected at its upper end to the lever intermediate its ends and depending therefrom, said cable being positioned to one sid of the vertical center of the opening whereby, upon an operator grasping and pulling said cable downwardly, the free end of the lever arm will also move downwardly in an arcuate path to thus pull the cables downwardly at their juncture and thus moving the free upper edges of the doors apart from each other for permitting egress of air from within the barn.

5. In a tobacco barn having a pyramidalshaped roof, said roof being provided with a rectangular opening at its center, an open-ended hollow member having vertically disposed wall members secured to said roof, one wallmem'ber being adjacent each side of said rectangular opening, a horizontally disposed plate member mounted in spaced relation to the upper ends of said vertically disposed wall members, a substantially triangular door hingedly connected to the roof at each of the sides of the rectangular opening, said roof being provided with hip rafters extending from the lower edges of said'roof and across the said opening and terminating at th centerof said opening, and a block of substantially the length of the ends of: the rafters and to which the ends of the rafters are adapted to be secured, the hinged doors. normally resting on the hip rafters, a relatively short vertically movable common post disposedbelowthe said block, a guide rodconnected to said common post and being slidably mounted in said block, link 'memberspivotally connected to the common post and extending from said common postrto each of the hinged doors and being pivotally connected at their other ends to the bottoms o-fsaidhinged doors, said barn also having a frame member disposed below saidopening, a. lever arm pivotally connected to the common post at on end thereof and being oscillatably mounted intermediate its ends on said frame member, a cable depending from the free end of said lever arm and terminating adjacent the bottom floor of the tobacco barn, whereby an operator may pull said cable downwardly fo jraising the doors to a desired elevation at their proximate upper ends to permit air to be discharged through the opening from the interior of the barn, the walls of the barn having .a plurality of openings in the lower portions thereof through which air may be admitted to the barn to pass upwardly and outwardly through said opening.

6. In a tobacco barn having a pyramidalshaped roof, said roof being provided with a rectangularopening at its center, a substantially triangular door hingedly. connected to the roof at each of the sides of the rectangular opening, said roof being provided with hip rafters extending from the lower edges of said roof and across the said opening and terminating at the center of said opening, and a block of substantially the length of the ends of the rafters and to which the ends of the rafters are adapted to be secured, the hinged doors normally resting on the hip rafters, a relatively short vertically movable common post disposed below the said block, a, guid rod connected to said common post and being slidably mounted in said block, link members pivotally connected to the common post and extending from said common post to each of the hinged doors and being pivotally connected at their other ends to the bottoms of said hinged doors, said barn also having a frame member disposed below said opening, a lever arm pivotally connected to the common post at one end thereof and being oscillatably mounted intermediate its ends on said frame member, a cable depending from the free end of said lever arm and terminating adjacent the bottom floor of the tobacco barn, whereby an operator may pull said cable downwardly for raising the doors to a desired elevation at their proximate upper ends to permit air to be discharged through the opening from the interior of the barn, a rectangular framework supported by said hip rafters and extending upwardly a substantial distance above said opening, a horizontally disposed cover plate secured to the upper end of the rectangular framework, side wall members secured to the framework, the upper ends of said side wall members being spaced a substantial distance below said cover member to thus induce an even flow of air under windy conditions across and above said 11 opening and whereby upon moving said hinged doors upwardly, a uniform passage of air upwardly through the opening may be insured.

7. In a tobaccobarn having a foundation and also having side Walls supported on the foundation and also having a pyramidal-shaped roof supported on the upper ends of the side walls, said roof being provided with a rectangular opening at its center, doors hingedly connected to the roof at the sides of the rectangular opening, said roof being provided with hip rafters extending inwardly and upwardly from each corner thereof and being jointed together at their upper ends and said rafters spanning said opening, the said hinged doors being adapted to normally rest on the hip rafters, a bar secured to the lower surface of each of the hinged doors and extending a substantial distance beyond the hinged end of the same, converging cables extending from the free ends 'ofv said bars, a lever arm connected at its I free end to the cables at a point substantially in vertical alinement with the center of the opening, means pivotally connecting said lever arm at its other end to the rafters, a cable connected at its upper end to the lever intermediate its ends and depending therefrom, said cable being positioned to one side of the vertical center of the opening whereby, upon an operator grasping and pulling said cable downwardly, the free end of the lever arm will. also move downwardly in an arcuate air under. windy conditionsacross'vand'above said opening and whereby upon moving said hinged doors upwardly a uniform pa-ssage'ofair upwardly throughthe opening may be insured; 1 V

8. In atobacco barn havingafoundation and also having side walls supported 'onvtheffounda tion and also having a pyramidal-shaped roof supported on the upper ends of the side walls, said roof being provided with a rectangularopening at its apex, an open-ended hollow'member having vertically disposed Wall members secured to the upper surface of said roof and surrounding said rectangular opening, a horizontally disposed plate member mounted in'spaced relation to the up per end of the hollow member, a substantially triangular door hingedly connected to the roof at each of the sides of the rectangular opening, aid roof being providedwith hiprafters extending inwardly and upwardly from each corner thereof and spanning said opening and being joined together at their upper ends, said hinged doors nor mally resting on the hip rafters, means secured to the doors and extending downwardly tohthe lower portion of the barn for engagement by an opera tor for raising said doors.

' GILDER 'S. HORNE.

REFERENCES GZTEDQ The following references are of record "in the file of this patent:

V UNITED STATES PATENTS 

